Hymn to Soma
Rigveda III.49 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 3 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
O Indra, drink the soma poured! Let rapture flood thy mighty limbs. The sweetened draught hath been prepared; the singers call thee to the feast. Come down, O Bull, with thunderous tread, and take thy seat upon the grass.
The mortals praise thee, mighty lord. Thou art the guardian of the herds, the keeper of the cattle-wealth. Through thee alone the rivers flow; by thee alone the dawn breaks forth. The heavens hold their breath when thou dost wake, and all the earth trembles at thy coming.
Drink deep, O Soma-lord divine! Let wisdom flood thy radiant mind. We have prepared the sacred rite; the priests have chanted hymns of praise. The songs rise up like smoke to thee; accept our offerings, glorious one.
Thy thunderbolt doth shake the void; thy voice doth roll across the sky. No demon dares to face thy wrath; no foe can stand against thy might. The serpent Vṛtra bowed before thy club; the waters burst forth at thy command.
O Indra, grant unto thy folk the plenty that they crave. Let herds increase and grain grow high; let children born be strong and bold. Guard us from danger, shield us well, and keep our enemies at bay.
The singer's voice calls out to thee from every sacred fire. Accept this hymn, this soma-draught; let rapture fill thy mighty breast. Be thou our champion evermore, our guardian and our sovereign lord.
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda III.49
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
śaṁsā mahām indraṁ yasmin viśvā ā kṛṣṭayaḥ somapāḥ kāmam avyan |
yaṁ sukratuṁ dhiṣaṇe vibhvataṣṭaṁ ghanaṁ vṛtrāṇāṁ janayanta devāḥ || 1 ||
yaṁ nu nakiḥ pṛtanāsu svarājaṁ dvitā tarati nṛtamaṁ hariṣṭhām |
inatamaḥ satvabhir yo ha śūṣaiḥ pṛthujrayā aminād āyur dasyoḥ || 2 ||
sahāvā pṛtsu taraṇir nārvā vyānaśī rodasī mehanāvān |
bhago na kāre havyo matīnām piteva cāruḥ suhavo vayodhāḥ || 3 ||
dhartā divo rajasas pṛṣṭa ūrdhvo ratho na vāyur vasubhir niyutvān |
kṣapāṁ vastā janitā sūryasya vibhaktā bhāgaṁ dhiṣaṇeva vājam || 4 ||
śunaṁ huvema maghavānam indram asmin bhare nṛtamaṁ vājasātau |
śṛṇvantam ugram ūtaye samatsu ghnantaṁ vṛtrāṇi saṁjitaṁ dhanānām || 5 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
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